Assessing
by Fairady
Summary: When a battle is over the leaders must take stock of what has survived. [Set after Ch.247]


Disclaimer: Don't own, or claim the series Naruto. Which is probably a good thing since I wouldn't have been able to make Gaara as hot as he is now. 

Warning: Big, huge spoilers for anything after chapter 246 in the manga.

Notes: Just a little fancy my mind took to after seeing the RAW of chapter 247. Heh, expect many Kazekage!Gaara fics from me now. And present tense sucks! Yet this fic demanded to be written that way.

Assessing  
by fairady

* * *

The streets are quite and deserted. Rubble litters the damaged city and sand blows around it. Left alone long enough and it will all be buried.

Gaara picks his way through the streets eyes sweeping from side to side, assessing. The damage was thankfully contained to one part of the city, but it is extensive. Many people will be without home and business for a while.

The two Akatsuki members had dealt his city a great blow. They'd known where to hit to make him hurt.

Gaara pauses as a low hissing draws his attention. To his left is a partially destroyed residence. He steps through the destroyed wall and looks down at the puddle of water he's stepped in.

_Water is precious._ The memory of Yashamaru flits through his head and he looks around finding the source of the water. A water pipe connected to the city's main water supply lies under a foot of rubble. Gaara pushes it to the side and studies the spurting pipe.

He's not a handy man. Sand crushes the pipe destroying the water flow, and preventing the precious liquid from evaporating. The engineers would have to immediately check the water pipes for any other leaks. It's added to his growing list of things that must be done.

The next street is worse. Every building is damaged and most look unsalvageable. It's also busy with people. Gaara pauses in the rubble of what once was a store and watches the civilians.

A few weep openly at the ruin, most silently pick through it for anything that might have escaped the destruction.

"Kazekage-sama," Gaara looks down at the soft voice. A girl and boy both look up at him nervous and awed. The girl holds a cracked cup up to him thick with soup.

Gaara kneels down and accepts the cup from the girl. He doesn't smile but he does pat both heads. It's a small thing, but he's learned that the small things often go a long way to reassuring people. "Thank you."

The children run off giggling. No doubt to horrify their mother with the tale of their encounter with the Kazekage. Though Gaara was finding it increasingly common to be stalked through the streets by kids, a good portion of the adult population still fear him.

The soup is cold and too bland for his taste. He finishes it off and places the cup on a rock. Getting back up proves to be slightly harder than he anticipated. His side throbbed painfully though the kunai had only slid over his ribs. Kankuro would have a fit when he finally caught up with him.

The people move respectfully and fearfully, always a little fearfully, out of his way as he continues to survey the damage done. Gaara could have had any one of his advisors do it, but it was easier for him to see it himself. Easier to know what he had to do to fix it.

Gaara knows his advisors are surprised by the ease with which he took to the Kazekage title. In the first months he'd often overheard their wonder over how he ruled. But then, anything except outright bloodshed from him would have amazed them. The fact that he had not only not killed anyone, but also recovered the Sand's strength beyond what it was before their battle with the Leaf was an outright miracle to most.

"Kazekage-sama," an old woman reaches for his sleeve and takes in his torn clothes and blood spotted bandages. The woman nods and pulls a wrapped bundle out of her basket. "Food for our warriors."

Gaara accepts the package and bows in respect. The old woman smiles in delight before walking away. He unwraps a rather large sized sandwhich. He is hungry and finishes it in seconds.

The next street is fairly untouched. Only a few buildings are damaged. People have gathered around one of the most heavily damaged buildings. Gaara walks towards them and they part silently.

"K-kazekage-sama," an older man hastily bows and looks around nervously. The back half of the building is caved in and the man hovers uncertainly above a hole. "There is someone, a ninja at the bottom. We, we cannot free him."

Gaara can hear voices from below, and can smell the faintest trace of blood. He looks back at the crowd, "Get everyone out of this area."

He doesn't wait before dropping into the hole. It's a short distance and he scares a few years off the two men standing at the bottom. Both scramble back up and out of the building leaving a light behind.

Rasping, pain filled gasps fill the area and Gaara easily locates the injured man. The jounin's legs are pinned beneath a fall of concrete. It's easy to see that shifting the mess would quickly bring the rest of the building down around them.

The man looks up at him from the ground. His face is a mask of pain and blood, and for once no fear. Only hope. "Kazekage-samma..."

Gaara kneels next to him and studies the rubble. The area immediately around the building is clear. He can feel the presence of the people, far enough away to be safe. Sand fills the space between the man and the rubble.

"This is going to hurt," Gaara warns the man softly. The jounin nods once and reaches out to grip his arm. Tightly.

Gaara concentrates and moves the rubble away. A low groan from the building is all the warning it gives before it collapses. Gaara can barely hear it over the man's bitten off scream. Before the rubble can completely settle Gaara is already using the sand to force his way up.

Cushioning the wounded jounin on the sand he dispels the shield around them. A team of medics are already waiting for him and rush to take the man from him.

Gaara watches them leave and, after a quick glance at the crowd, he follows them. By now all the wounded ninja's would be at the hospital. He's already seen the damage done to his city, now it's time for him to see the damage done to his people.


End file.
